Walk through our front gate of our Living Museum and step into the pages of a colonial history book. Explore the early settlement of Howick as it was in the mid to late 1800s. Open the doors of real homes and experience living history for yourself. See how the early settlers would have lived as they went about their daily activities.

Better still, come along to one of our Live Days and interact with costumed villagers –perhaps chat with a Fencible soldier, or play an old time game of hoops with the kids. Explore the heritage garden, have a picnic on the lawn or relax with home-style food and coffee in our cafe. And please ask questions of our volunteers on site. We love to share our knowledge of local history.

Why visitors love to come to our Historical Village

Live Days

Experience village life in 19th Century New Zealand. Interact with villagers in period costumes as they go about daily tasks, play Victorian era children’s games, perhaps watch Fencible soldiers go through their drills, or enjoy a marching band.

Weddings

Great Morse Code

..– ..- -. is how to send fun in morse code. Having to decode messages was a great experience and the kids all enjoyed themselves learning how to read messages by morse, braille and semaphore!”

St. Johns BB Holiday Programme

We all had fun!

“We all had fun! Thank you for the day. Very well organised. Still my favourite school trip to come on!”

Manurewa Central School

Really great!

“A very friendly, efficient and useful delivery of information. A great facility and resource for learning. Thank you to your friendly staff.”

Murrays Bay Intermediate

I LOVED IT!

We came for a guided tour of the howick historic village.
the houses where preserved so well, everything was authentic and a true imitation of what life would have been like in this era. the cultural aspects where very strong also and it actually taught me a lot!

Join us these holidays for some old-fashioned fun in the Village! Each day (Monday to Friday) families and children of all ages can come and explore the village and participate in various activities including outdoor games, giant bubbles, craft activities and the ever popular children’s garden trail. In addition to this, you can join our Villagers for a traditional activity at 11am and 1pm Monday to Friday only.

All variety of games will fill an exciting day at the village this school holiday. From indoor toys that trick your eyes to parlour games that trick your friends. Master the skills of the outdoor toys and create a giant obstacle course for all to enjoy. Come and play in every kind of way!

Suitable for primary-school aged children.

Bring a hat, a friend, a picnic lunch, a water bottle and an adventurous spirit.

Spoil your mum on Mother's day for a delicious high tea in a beautiful historic building. Price includes, dainty food and beverages, friendly costumed staff, guest historian speaker and a complimentary soft drink or bubbles on arrival.

Free entry into the village from 10am on the day.

$40 per person (incl.soft drink)Or $45 per Adult (incl.glass of bubbles)Booking is essential as seating is limited

Due to the historic nature of the venue, we ask that all guests refrain from wearing stilettos.